BatteryBox Charges 8 Devices at Once or MacBook

A new battery management system means you can forget about hunting for an outlet. The $139 BatteryBox is an the external charger promises to juice up your MacBook for 6 to 12 hours or fully charge eight iPhones. It will be available starting this fall.

Backed by a technology called BatteryOS, BatteryBox is an example of how energy inside a lithium-ion battery can be controlled so that they can hold more power and not degrade over time. Created by company GBatteries, the battery management system controls energy flow during charging, idling and use of a battery, giving it 10 to 40 percent more capacity and four times more cycles.

BatteryBox packs 12,000 mAh (or 50 Whr) and is roughly the size of a MacBook adapter at 3.55 x 2.63 x 0.98 inches and 8.81 ounces. It will be compatible with any device that's charged by USB as well as any MacBook that uses MagSafe2. BatteryBox bypasses the internal battery of your Mac, feeding power directly to the computer to minimize the stress on the built-in battery. Up to eight USB devices charge normally.

BatteryBox says it will last 3,000 full charge and discharge cycles while still retaining 96 percent of its capacity after 5 years, meaning this charger could last you about the same as the lifetime of your notebook.

Cherlynn joined the Laptopmag team in June 2013 and has since been writing about all things tech and digital with a focus on mobile and Internet software development. She also edits and reports occasionally on video. She graduated with a M.S. in Journalism (Broadcast) from Columbia University in May 2013 and has been designing personal websites since 2001.